House lawmakers form task force to modernize foreign military sales

by Brad Dress - 06/27/23 11:48 AM ET

FILE – In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, Airmen and civilians from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron palletize ammunition, weapons and other equipment bound for Ukraine during a foreign military sales mission at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Jan. 21, 2022. The longer Ukraine’s army fends off the invading Russians, the more it absorbs the advantages of Western weaponry and training. Military experts say that’s exactly the transformation President Vladimir Putin wanted to prevent by invading Ukraine in the first place. (Mauricio Campino/U.S. Air Force via AP)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the committee is chaired by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

Top foreign affairs and defense lawmakers formed a task force Tuesday to modernize the U.S. foreign military sales process following long-standing concerns about a delay behind weapons shipments to allied countries.

The bipartisan Technical, Industrial, and Governmental Engagement for Readiness (TIGER) task force will be headed by Reps. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).

Also joining the team are Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.), Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.).

In announcing the new task force, Waltz said the U.S. foreign military sales process has been “plagued with delays that have put many of our allies and partners across the globe at risk.”

“I’m proud to lead this bipartisan TIGER task force to examine why many of these shipments have been delayed or have seen increased costs, putting the security of some of our most critical allies at risk, and implement legislative solutions to streamline these sales,” Waltz said in a statement.

TIGER lawmakers will work to expedite the process of weapons and defense equipment deliveries to U.S. partners across the globe.

The U.S. is the largest international provider of weapons, accounting for about 40 percent of the world’s arms exports. Last year, the U.S. provided more than $51.9 billion in direct arms sales, a major uptick boosted by international concerns about stability amid the war in Ukraine.

Lawmakers, however, have expressed concerns about delays and backlogs, including the stalled transfer of billions of dollars worth of equipment to Taiwan, an island nation that Washington fears China may invade in the near future.

Moulton said military sales “are a crucial tool of American diplomacy and national security.”

“Our partners, like Taiwan, order American military equipment because they need it,” he said in a statement. “They should receive that hardware as quickly as possible.”

The U.S. has received criticism for transferring weapons systems to countries that have abused human rights, including to Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of backing militants accused of civilians in war-torn Yemen.

Washington is also the largest arms provider to Israel, which is accused of egregious human rights abuses against the Palestine population in occupied Gaza and the West Bank.

The Biden administration, which paused arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen in 2021, revised a policy earlier this year to require a stricter review of human rights abuses in countries that would receive U.S. weapons.

It’s unclear whether the TIGER team will also work on human rights concerns. But according to the announcement, the TIGER team will work closely with State Department and Pentagon experts as it conducts oversight of the foreign sales process. Lawmakers will make legislative recommendations and hold hearings.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was confident the task force would “get the answers we need.”

“It is vital that when we make a deal with our partners and allies to send military systems, that we provide them as quickly as possible,” McCaul said in a statement.

Updated at 1:22 p.m.